Despite what many expected and predicted, recent research suggests that Melbourne’s house prices have shown resilience over the recent COVID-19 lockdowns.
Despite the real estate industry basically halting over recent months, house prices in Melbourne have only seen a small dip. The median house price is strong in metropolitan Melbourne at $846000, a modest drop of just 1.7%.
With changing work patterns and many desiring a tree change, regional Victoria has seen impressive gains as people look to move from Melbourne to the regions.
Whilst we’ve seen a small dip in median price recently it’s worth noting that Melbourne house prices are still strong when compared with 12 months ago. They’ve held gains of 7.4%. With Melbourne starting to reopen and restrictions easing, with the progressive reopening of the real estate industry many are confident that prices will stay strong, despite ongoing economic concerns.
There is still some confidence in the market and this should offer comfort to sellers that the market remains strong, even as many property experts still predict property price crashes of up to 25%. Real Estate is a strong investment and continues to perform well despite everything that is thrown at it.
ANZ predicted a big COVID-19 downturn, suggesting a fall of up to 15% in house prices. Others predicted a drop of up to 30%.
As shown, we haven’t seen this occur. In fact, even with pandemic caused shutdowns some suburbs have seen a median house price increase over the last quarter. Glen Waverley, for example, shows a 6.4% rise in median prices according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria with many houses seeing intense online auctions and excellent results for the vendor.
Unexpectedly high results in some areas could be a result of limited stock availability at a time where there is still a high number of interested buyers in the market. This pushes prices up as many Agents have noted a high number of enquiries during the pandemic.
Inspection bookings are also high now as real estate industry restrictions ease. People are looking to buy and with limited stock on the market this will ensure that prices remain strong.
The two areas of metropolitan Melbounre performing strongly are those that are in top-performing school zones and many of Melbourne’s outer suburbs. Both appeal to different aspects of the market obviously. Many families want to give their children the best opportunities by getting them into top performing schools whilst others look to get on the property ladder in areas where housing may be more affordable.
Regional Victoria performed strongly through the lockdown and it’s expected that regional markets will continue to boom. As restrictions ease, more Melbourne residents will be able to visit regional towns to inspect properties. Increasing inspections should foster this boom.
Restrictions easing now should see more properties come onto the market as vendors anticipate increased prices with the opportunity for inspections from prospective buyers.
Interest rates are still at incredibly low levels and Government incentives for first home buyers look to keep the market strong.
